Nursing-bottle



(No Model.)

' H. MATZEN.

NURSING BOTTLE.

Patent-ed Feb. 4, 1-896.

WITNESSES.

- UNITED STATES PATENT ()FFICE;

HERMAN MATZEN, OF CLEVELAND, OHIO.

NURSING-BOTTLE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 554,071, dated February 4;, 1896. I Application filed August 9, 1894. Serial No. 519,817. (No model.)

To aZZ whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, HERMAN lVIATZEN, a citizen of the United States, residing at Cleveland, in the county of Ouyahoga and State of Ohio, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Nursing-Bottles; and I do hereby declare the following to be afull, clear, and exact description of the invention,such as will enable others skilled in the art to .which it appertains to make and use the same.

My invention has reference to nursing-bottles, and the object of the invention is, first, to provide a bottle in which no air is admitted and in which no vacuum is formed as the milk is withdrawn by the baby, and, secondly,

to provide a bottle from which the milk will flow continuously and evenly, whatever the size of the opening in the nipple.

The invention therefore consists of a nursing-bottle made of two parts, one of which is flexible, the other rigid, and in which the flexible part operates to prevent a vacuum in the bottle as the milk is drawn out by the child and promotes evenness in the flow, all substantially as shown and described, and

particular y pointed out in the claims.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is an elevation of my improved nursing-bottle, showing the two parts disconnected and the flexible part distended as occurs when the bottle is filled with milk. Fig. 2 is a view of said bottle when the two parts are connected and the bottle has been substantially emptied, the flexible part in this case being drawn into the rigid part.

Referring now to the parts by letters, A and B represent, respectively, the two parts of the bottle. The partA is preferably made of glass, and resembles the upper half of an ordinary nursing-bottle. On the upper end of the neck is an external annular flange a, which prevents the accidental drawing off of the nipple O. The other part, B, of the bottle consists of flexible material so thin and light that it will readily respond to the suction of the infant through the nipple and surrender itself to such suction with practically no resistance whatever of its own, thus following the withdrawal of the milk and at last losing itself bodily in the upper half, A, and filling the space thereof, as seen in Fig. 2. I believe that a good quality of elastic rubber is the best material from which to make the part B,

part B is an annular bead b, which enters the annular groove a about the lower edge of the part A. The diameter of the upper edge of the part B is less than the diameter of the lower edge of the part A with which it engages, whereby said part B is made to stretch on and grasp the part A, and hold its place thereon when filled and used or played with by the child. The bead or rib b engages in groove to and helps to make the engagement effective, and yet leave the parts free for the nurse to detach and wash and cleanse as they require.

In using this bottle it is filled through the neck after the two parts are connected just as other bottles are now filled. The nipple is put on and then the collapsible part B is compressed until all of the air is forced out through the hole in the nipple, whereupon the bottle is ready to give to the child. As the baby sucks the milk from the bottle, the collapsible part B is gradually drawn into the part A, thus reducing the capacity of the bottle, and this goes on until the milk is withdrawn and said part B substantially fills the part A, as before described.

A number of obvious objections occur in the old-fashioned nursing-bottle which this invention wholly overcomes. Thus, for example, as the milk is withdrawn from them air is necessarily admitted or the flow of milk will cease, and consequently the baby sucks in more or less air with the milk, with the usual evil results of wind-colic or the like. Indeed, in order that these old bottles may be used at all it is necessary for the baby to stop sucking again and again, and so completely relax its effort that air may pass in, and all the milk withdrawn has to be replaced with air and the nipple has to be so constructed as to admit air through it into the bottle.

Again, in the ordinary or old-fashioned bottle, the opening in the nozzle of the nipple must be larger than in my bottle, or otherwise, when a rubber nipple is used, said opening in the nipple will close up when a vacuum is created in the bottle by the Withdrawal of the milk, and this Will prevent the entrance of air to fill said vacuum, and consequently prevent the Withdrawal of any more milk and effectually seal the bottle against the child. On the other hand, if the hole in the nipple is so large that it will not close up and exclude the air, it is at the same time so large that the baby gets the milk too fast.

lVith my bottle the finest pin-hole may be formed in the nipple, and a small but regular and uninterrupted stream will flow through it.

Another advantage of my construction of bottle is that the two parts of the bottle may be readily separated to cleanse and keep clean, and, when separated, each part can be reached byhand and wash-clotltand be easily and quickly cleaned.

Finally, any bottle has the exceptionaland "distinguishing advantage of i being ready to yield its contents to the child Whatever the position of theibottle may be. Indeed, one

position is practically as goodas anotherand the unilk comes freely in all positions. Incident to this is the advantage that when the bottle is exhausted the child may continue to draw on the nipple and entertain itself and be satisfied and go to sleep with the nipple in its month, because it cannot injure itself 1 by sucking in a quantity of air, as with the old style of bottle.

Vith the old bottle the bottle must lie in such position that the in ilkwillfiow by gravity to the nipple or nomilk can behad. This as being expensive and an additional burden to keep clean. This latter arrangementalso had the old objcctionof requiring admission of air to the bottle to be usable at all, and can only work in certain positions.

What I claim is- 1. A nursing-bottle consisting of separable upper and lower parts, the upper part rigid and having an outlet, and the lower part of a flexible material fixed detachably to the up per part and adapted to collapse, by atmospheric' pressure, Within the rigid part as said as described.

3. A nursing-bottle consisting ofa rigid top partopenat both endsandconstructed at one end WiblI-ELDOGk to receive a nursing-nipple and .at the other end to temporarily attach a Ffiexible part, in combination with a flexible and collapsible part connected to said rigid part and of a size when expandedto fill the interior of theupper part to the neck, substantially as i set forth.

4. As a newarticle of manufacture,anursing-bottle consisting of part, A, open at both ends and havin g a neck with i'langeya, about its top anda groove, a about its bottom, and

.aflexible anddetachablc part, B, *hayin g bead,

b, to engage in saidgroove, substantially as set forth.

Intestimony whereof Iaffix mysignature in presence of two Witnesses.

HERMAN MATZEN. \Vitncsses:

E.L. THURSTON, J. AAPLUVALE. 

